


Calm in the Chaos

by hopespym



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bucky Barnes Feels, M/M, Pining, Soft boys being soft, but it's happy, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 11:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22715230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopespym/pseuds/hopespym
Summary: “What’d you do?”Bucky shrugged, looking down at his side and the frown on his face deepened. He pulled his hand away from his side and Clint rolled his eyes when he saw the blood on the other man's hands,  the blood almost crusted by this point and how the hell long had he been bleeding for, “If I have to deal with this, let me put on some pants.”
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 12
Kudos: 56
Collections: Winterhawk Valentine's Day 2020 Blind Date Exchange





	Calm in the Chaos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GWH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GWH/gifts).



> I had so much fun with this and thinking of all the different ways this could go! I kind of just scraped the tops of the two prompts I used which were 'texting' and 'pining' but honestly really considering writing another part to this au. I hope you like it!

Clint groaned as he heard his phone going off and fuck - had he slept with his aids in again? 

His hand flew up to cusp his ear and he groaned again when his thoughts were confirmed that yes he had, in fact, gone to sleep wearing his aids. Again. For the third time that week. And it was only Thursday.

Hearing his phone going off again he huffed and let his face flop down onto his pillow as he blindly started groping for his phone, still vainly hoping that he could just go back to sleep and forget. 

After smacking his sheets endlessly for a few moments too long he huffed and pulled himself up in a half sitting pose, finally opening his eyes to try actually look for his futzing phone.

He managed to find it only a few moments later, on the floor half under his bed frame of all places, he snatched it up off the ground with a rightful glare as it lit up, his eyes trying to adjust to the light. 

“Wha-? Bucky?”

**From: Buck Buck** **  
** _ You still in that shitty building? _ _  
_ _ The one that u own or something? _ _  
_ _ Clint _ _  
_ _ This is srs so if u culd respond that wuld b gr8 _

Clint’s eyebrows furrowed as he read the texts, the english getting significantly worse as the messages went on, even though it was only a few, and he wondered what the other man was going through for him to receive these types of texts.

**To: Buck Buck** **  
** _ yea  _

**From: Buck Buck** **  
** _ Kwl.  _

**To: Buck Buck** **  
** _ wot u doin ? _

After waiting for a few moments and not getting a response back, but also not being able to fall back asleep, Clint let out a pitiful whine as he realised that he might actually have to get out of bed. Taking a look at the time on his phone he sighed and fully got out of bed when he noticed that it was nearing one in the afternoon. 

Scratching his bare stomach as he walked to the kitchen, he paused as he noticed an open window when he was sure that he had locked them all previously. He looked around the lounge, finding Lucky sleeping on the couch and frowning minutely before he continued into the kitchen in search of coffee and maybe something to eat.

“Really? No pants?”

Clint paused mid-way reaching for a cup, turning around just to see Bucky Barnes himself sitting on one of Clint’s shitty chairs and holding his side in such a non obvious way it was obvious that he had hurt himself somehow.

“What’d you do?”

Bucky shrugged, looking down at his side and the frown on his face deepened. He pulled his hand away from his side and Clint rolled his eyes when he saw the blood on the other man's hands, the blood almost crusted by this point and how the hell long had he been bleeding for, “If I have to deal with this, let me put on some pants.”

By the time he had put some loose fitting sweatpants, Bucky had taken his shirt off and made his way into the bathroom, dimly touching around the wound, trying to see how bad the damage was.

Suddenly aware of how cramped the space was, Clint took a deep breath as he walked further into the room, trying to focus on the area that was bleeding rather than all of the skin that was on display just calling for him to look at. 

Instead he pulled out a cloth and dampened it with water before he kneeled beside the other man, lifting his arm out of the way and starting to dot away the mix of fresh and dried blood. They sat in silence throughout most of the process, Clint having been through this routine with Bucky enough to know that the other man liked silence, but also just liking the companionable silence.

Sure, he could take this opportunity to tell Bucky that he hated seeing him hurt like this, that he felt weirdly happy that Bucky felt safe enough to just… Show up at Clint’s apartment when he was injured like this - when he still didn’t feel one hundred percent comfortable around Steve in this way.

There were a lot of other things he could have said, a lot of different actions he could have taken, but in the end he just continued to silently dab the blood off of Bucky’s side.

“I can hear you thinking from here.”

Looking up without thinking, Clint found himself staring right into Bucky’s eyes. Coughing and averting his eyes back to the cloth he stood up to rinse the blood out of it before kneeling back down. Before he continued with his actions, he took a look at the wound and winced minutely when he heard Bucky take a sharp intake of breath.

Though they both knew that the wound would be nearly completely gone in a couple of hours, sometimes routines stuck and when you had done this enough with someone, it was the act of actually going through the motions that made you feel better.

The blood was mostly gone and Clint left the bathroom to let Bucky finish up with patching his wound. Throwing the cloth into the washing basket, Clint went into his room and pulled on a plain white shirt before he got attacked by Lucky, who had been whining since Bucky closed himself up in the bathroom.

“Yeah, yeah. He’ll be out in a minute to give you all the scratches you so crave.”

True to his words, Bucky made himself at home with little fuss and wow - it really spoke volumes at how gone Clint was on this man when just the sight of him on his couch getting smothered by his dog made his heart beat so fast.

He turned away before he could think any more on his feelings, instead focusing on two cups of coffee - one black and one with enough sugar to give a normal person cavities, giving that one to Bucky who let out a pleased hum when he took a sip. 

Plopping down on the opposite side of the couch, Lucky’s tail thumping on his knee and his face in Bucky’s lap, Clint turned to face the other man, “You gonna be good?”

Bucky’s eyes flicked to Clint for a moment before he looked back at the T.V.,  _ Dr. Phil _ playing as background noise more than anything else, “Yeah.”

“Sweet.”

So sure. There’s a lot of things that Clint could have said to Bucky, some things he could have done as well. And sure, when Bucky looks so soft on his couch, in his apartment, drinking his coffee from his mug, and just looking so at home and like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be, he thinks maybe Bucky wouldn’t hate his advances.

But really, when Bucky ends up falling asleep, Lucky now fully on his lap and his metal arm wrapped protectively around the mutt, but still gentle in a way that Lucky can escape if he wants, Clint sits back and just thinks that nah.

Maybe one day.

Maybe even soon.

But not today.

Not when he’s finally found his calm.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought below!
> 
> come screech with me about winterhawk:  
> twitter: [betsybraddocks](https://twitter.com/betsybraddocks)  
> tumblr: [thescarletwitch](https://thescarletwitch.tumblr.com/)


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